President Claudia Sheinbaum said the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration operated with total openness in Mexico during the administration of former President Felipe Calderón [1].
These remarks challenge the historical narrative of Mexico's security strategy. By questioning whether the war on drugs was a domestic initiative or a foreign imposition, Sheinbaum highlights the long-standing tension regarding U.S. influence over Mexican sovereignty, and internal security operations.
Speaking in Tepic, Nayarit, Sheinbaum said to a crowd of approximately 45,000 people [2]. She specifically pointed to the role of American agencies in shaping Mexico's military capabilities. According to Sheinbaum, U.S. agencies used the Mexican Navy to form elite bodies [1].
This integration of foreign intelligence and local military force is central to her critique of the previous era. Sheinbaum said the DEA operated with "total apertura" in Mexican territory during the Calderón sexenio [1].
The president expressed uncertainty regarding the true origin of the aggressive anti-drug campaign. "Siempre quedará la duda si la guerra contra el 'narco' fue idea de Calderón o de EU," Sheinbaum said [1].
By framing the conflict as a possible U.S. export, Sheinbaum distances her current administration from the tactics of the past. The focus on the Mexican Navy's role in forming elite units suggests that the structural foundations of the drug war were laid by external actors, rather than solely by Mexican political leadership [1].
“"Siempre quedará la duda si la guerra contra el 'narco' fue idea de Calderón o de EU."”
Sheinbaum's comments signal a strategic shift in how the Mexican government frames its security failures and successes. By attributing the origins of the drug war to U.S. influence, the current administration minimizes the culpability of the Mexican state while emphasizing a narrative of foreign interference. This rhetoric may serve to justify a different approach to narcotics control that prioritizes sovereignty over the high-intensity military strategies previously encouraged by Washington.
